A developer wants to build a 12-story, 415-room hotel on more than five acres along Universal Boulevard, close to Universal Orlando, but the project still has to clear Orlando's review process before a single shovel hits the dirt. The proposal is positioned to catch overflow from the region's booming theme park corridor.
The proposal is expected to go before the city of Orlando for consideration, according to WKMG ClickOrlando, and it remains in the review process rather than approved. More than two acres of wetlands on the property could be affected by the development, and the developer would need to purchase mitigation credits to address that potential impact.
Sewer Capacity Still an Open Question
Sewer capacity is also a concern in the city's review of whether the property can support development at all, the station's report notes. The developer is expected to address both the wetland and sewer concerns during a meeting with the city, though the outcome of that discussion has not been reported.
This isn't the first hotel to run into wetland questions near Epic Universe. Last year, Harbco filed preliminary plans for a seven-story, 500-room hotel on a 5.37-acre site at 7593 Universal Boulevard, north of the park, according to GrowthSpotter. That site plan called for leaving much of the back of the property as open space specifically to protect wetlands, and Harbco described its own plans at the time as conceptual and still highly preliminary.
A Boom Driving Demand for More Rooms
Universal announced plans this month for a new Monsters-inspired roller coaster coming to Dark Universe inside Epic Universe. New attractions can give visitors additional reasons to return, and the hotel market may have room for more supply.
Orlando's tourism, convention and air-travel sectors remain part of the backdrop for hotel development, helping explain why developers eye vacant parcels near the parks.
Bigger Fights Over Wetlands Loom Nearby
The wetland questions facing this Universal Boulevard proposal are modest compared to other disputes playing out in Orange County. The Tuscana development became another Orange County dispute over wetlands. Orange County commissioners rejected the project 7-0 in May 2025, only for a special magistrate to recommend in a September review that commissioners reconsider it with conditions addressing wetlands, flooding, road access, school capacity and wildlife, per the Orlando Sentinel.
For now, the Universal Boulevard hotel remains a smaller and earlier-stage case, still working through the same basic regulatory questions that have slowed bigger projects elsewhere in the county. Whether Orlando ultimately signs off, and when the developer might clear the additional engineering and building permits needed to break ground, remains unresolved.
